country.
Regardless of their sympathies, there were good cattlemen on both sides and they worked hard, getting the wild stock out of the breaks and down on the flat to the sound of yells, good-natured argument and the usual joking. There would be several thousand head of cattle to be handled, and the roundup would move down-range before it was completed.
Yet as the day wore on, there was a change. A sort of tenseness seemed to develop, and the riders tended to bunch with others working from the same ranch. It was coming, and the time had come to ride down there.
Mabry came up beside him. "Canavan? You want me to rep for you? Or will you tackle it yourself?"
Canavan considered for a moment. "We'll both go down, but we'll go loaded for bear."
"If a fight starts, what do we do?"
"Unless they start it with us, just pull out fast.
We've no reason to fight at this point, but if we're down there somebody is liable to take a shot at us just for luck.
"Then when they find out that I've got cattle on this range, all hell is apt to break loose. So far they have me pegged as kind of an innocent bystander, but once they find I've moved in with cattle they will feel different."
"You may need help."
"Not yet. I don't want anybody killed.
If the fight starts, just pull out fast."
It was daybreak on the second day that they rode down to join the working crew. Dixie was there, sitting her horse near Tom. "I may need some extra horses," Canavan said, "if I could borrow a few head ...?"
"Sure," Tom said. "If you don't mind rough stock.
Most of our lads have their own horses ... I mean, the ones they prefer to ride. But I've got about sixty head corraled over in a box canyon back of our place. You can use any of them you like."
"I'll pick up about a dozen, if it's all right with you, and return them when the roundup is over."
Dixie glanced at him, but said nothing. He sat his horse, watching the work go forward. "Do you think there will be trouble?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You believe it was planned that way, don't you?"
"It was." He paused. "You may know more about it than I, and certainly you know more about the people involved. I don't want it to happen, although I've no regard for either Pogue or Reynolds.
They've been riding for a fall, and this could be it."
"And what of you?"
"I want to be here ... where you are."
She flushed. "Bill ... please. You mustn't talk that way. There's too much ... well, there are things happening that you don't understand. I don't want you killed."
"My kind don't kill very easy, Dixie, and I've got plans. I'll need more men, but I have two of the best."
Walt Pogue rode toward them. "Just seen Mabry. Is he workin' with you? I need a couple of good men and I'll pay top wages."
"No, thanks. I've come to rep for my brand."
Pogue's head bent forward like an old range bull about to charge. "Did you say ... your brand?"
"That's right," Canavan's face was innocent. "The Gallow's Frame."
The rancher reined his horse around so sharply that Canavan winced at the effect on the horse's mouth. "Who said you could run cattle on this range?"
Reynolds had come up in time to overhear. He looked as astonished and irritated as Pogue.
Where The Long Grass Blows (1976)
"It's government range," Canavan replied quietly, "and one man has as much right as the next."
"You'll find some difference of opinion on that!"
Pogue said angrily. "This range is overcrowded as it is!"
"Tell that to Star Levitt."
They glared at him, yet neither spoke. The subject of Star Levitt was obviously not one they were prepared to cope with at the moment. It was Reynolds who finally replied. "He'll be dealt with. And from what I hear somebody is doing some fancy work with a runnin' iron."
Bill Canavan hooked his leg around the saddle horn. "Reynolds," he said gently, "you and Pogue better take a good, long look at those altered brands before you jump anybody. The first thing you will see is that whoever did it didn't give a damn
Regardless of their sympathies, there were good cattlemen on both sides and they worked hard, getting the wild stock out of the breaks and down on the flat to the sound of yells, good-natured argument and the usual joking. There would be several thousand head of cattle to be handled, and the roundup would move down-range before it was completed.
Yet as the day wore on, there was a change. A sort of tenseness seemed to develop, and the riders tended to bunch with others working from the same ranch. It was coming, and the time had come to ride down there.
Mabry came up beside him. "Canavan? You want me to rep for you? Or will you tackle it yourself?"
Canavan considered for a moment. "We'll both go down, but we'll go loaded for bear."
"If a fight starts, what do we do?"
"Unless they start it with us, just pull out fast.
We've no reason to fight at this point, but if we're down there somebody is liable to take a shot at us just for luck.
"Then when they find out that I've got cattle on this range, all hell is apt to break loose. So far they have me pegged as kind of an innocent bystander, but once they find I've moved in with cattle they will feel different."
"You may need help."
"Not yet. I don't want anybody killed.
If the fight starts, just pull out fast."
It was daybreak on the second day that they rode down to join the working crew. Dixie was there, sitting her horse near Tom. "I may need some extra horses," Canavan said, "if I could borrow a few head ...?"
"Sure," Tom said. "If you don't mind rough stock.
Most of our lads have their own horses ... I mean, the ones they prefer to ride. But I've got about sixty head corraled over in a box canyon back of our place. You can use any of them you like."
"I'll pick up about a dozen, if it's all right with you, and return them when the roundup is over."
Dixie glanced at him, but said nothing. He sat his horse, watching the work go forward. "Do you think there will be trouble?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You believe it was planned that way, don't you?"
"It was." He paused. "You may know more about it than I, and certainly you know more about the people involved. I don't want it to happen, although I've no regard for either Pogue or Reynolds.
They've been riding for a fall, and this could be it."
"And what of you?"
"I want to be here ... where you are."
She flushed. "Bill ... please. You mustn't talk that way. There's too much ... well, there are things happening that you don't understand. I don't want you killed."
"My kind don't kill very easy, Dixie, and I've got plans. I'll need more men, but I have two of the best."
Walt Pogue rode toward them. "Just seen Mabry. Is he workin' with you? I need a couple of good men and I'll pay top wages."
"No, thanks. I've come to rep for my brand."
Pogue's head bent forward like an old range bull about to charge. "Did you say ... your brand?"
"That's right," Canavan's face was innocent. "The Gallow's Frame."
The rancher reined his horse around so sharply that Canavan winced at the effect on the horse's mouth. "Who said you could run cattle on this range?"
Reynolds had come up in time to overhear. He looked as astonished and irritated as Pogue.
Where The Long Grass Blows (1976)
"It's government range," Canavan replied quietly, "and one man has as much right as the next."
"You'll find some difference of opinion on that!"
Pogue said angrily. "This range is overcrowded as it is!"
"Tell that to Star Levitt."
They glared at him, yet neither spoke. The subject of Star Levitt was obviously not one they were prepared to cope with at the moment. It was Reynolds who finally replied. "He'll be dealt with. And from what I hear somebody is doing some fancy work with a runnin' iron."
Bill Canavan hooked his leg around the saddle horn. "Reynolds," he said gently, "you and Pogue better take a good, long look at those altered brands before you jump anybody. The first thing you will see is that whoever did it didn't give a damn
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